Linksys Wireless Router Differences (combo or stand alone)?

[Jeff Lam]

I picked up the WKPC54G kit today from fry's. It was $99 on sale.

They also had the WRT54G for $59 and the WPC54G for $49 sold seperately. Is the router in the combo (WKPC54G) the same as the stand alone one that you know of? It's $10 less to get the combo than to purchase the seperate components.

The only thing that looks different to me is the WKPC54G only has one taller, thinner antenna and the WRT54G has two wider, shorter antennas and the model number on it is different. Any other differences?

Will the two antennas make a difference in the range of the signal?

[Byte 2.0]

I use the WRT54G at home and think it is great. I know it has 2 antennas, I believe one is for 802.11b and the other is for 802.g, it has both options.

802.11B has more range then 802.11g. But 802.11g is faster.

However 802.11b is faster then any broadband connection I know about, so for speed the only thing you would notice is transfering files from one PC to another over wireless.

[glc]

The 2 antennas are not for the 2 bands - it's a diversity setup.

Looks like the router you bought is similar to a WRT54G, but with a single antenna. I don't know if it's a stripped down version or what. I don't have the dB numbers, but I'd guess that the dual antenna diversity setup might have better range.